Rocket Lab controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2020
Rocket Lab details corrective measures after Electron launch anomaly
Corrective action
Rocket Lab announced that it had identified an electrical connection issue as the cause of a failed Electron launch on July 4. The company stated that it had developed a mitigation plan for future missions. This plan included changes to production processes and more in-depth testing of current vehicles and stock. The announcement summarized the corrective measures the company intended to apply following the launch anomaly.
Rocket Lab said it had identified an electrical connection issue behind the failed July 4 Electron launch and had a mitigation plan for future missions, including changes to production processes and more in-depth testing of current vehicles and stock.
Stated objective. Mitigate failures of this nature on future missions.
Company response
Investigation — Rocket Lab
through a collaborative investigation with the Federal Aviation Administration Rocket Lab was “able to quickly reconstruct what happened and the AIB board (Accident Investigation Board) was able to confidently narrow down the issue to a single electrical connection.”
Remediation — Rocket Lab
The vast amount of data and the ability to sufficiently replicate the incident now means that Rocket Lab has a plan of action in place to mitigate any failures – of this nature – on future missions.
Source excerpt
Beck, during a media briefing Friday (July 31) said that the Electron second-stage “re-entered the atmosphere and burned up” resulting in a failed July 4 launch of the Electron and complete loss the customer payload of seven small satellites.
The vast amount of data and the ability to sufficiently replicate the incident now means that Rocket Lab has a plan of action in place to mitigate any failures – of this nature – on future missions.
We can actually mitigate (the anomaly) very easily through a slight change in production processes, but more importantly we can screen for it in our current vehicles and stock through more in-depth testing procedures.